IPL franchises divided over the terms for the retention policy

The franchises of the Indian Premier League (IPL) continue to remain divided over the issue of retention policy for the next season of the tournament. While some of the teams are in favour of retaining few of the current players, a couple of franchises are totally against it and want to go ahead with full auction. The full auction will also bring the top cricketers like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma under the hammer. However, the team owners are also demanding the IPL Governing Council to increase the purse up to Rs 80 Crore for the auction.

There is no consensus on the IPL retentions as of now between the franchises. The Governing Council (GC) had proposed a total retention of three players among which two would be Indian players. But the owners don’t want any cap on the retention of the Indian superstars. Interestingly, some of the teams who were in favour of no retention have now turned the tables and are demanding to retain four or five cricketers.

Punjab and Rajasthan against the policy

It is being learnt that all the teams barring Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals are in favour of retaining four to five of their best players in the squad. There is also an option of matching cards if the teams are not able the retain the players. IPL GC has organised a crucial meeting on November 21 with the team owners to decide the roadmap for the next season and it is expected a final decision would be taken soon.

Franchises are also expected to demand for an increased purse of no less than Rs 80 Crore. “If the board can earn so much from the media rights and the income of all teams is supposed to get anywhere between Rs 130 to Rs 150 cr per year, an increased purse won’t be a bad idea. It will stop the malpractice of paying players under the table,” a source was quoted as saying by Times of India.